The present disclosure relates to concrete slabs and methods of placing concrete slabs so as to control and mitigate undesirable properties during the concrete curing process.
Current placing methods for concrete slabs, particularly exposed and polished concrete floors in industrial and/or commercial applications, are intended to provide an aesthetically appealing surface that maintains desirable characteristics of polished concrete slabs, including relatively high compressive strength, high durability, low permeability, and low maintenance requirement. At the same time, beneficial placing methods attempt to mitigate undesirable properties of concrete slabs, such as shrinkage and low tensile strength, which create a propensity of the concrete to crack and/or curl during the curing process, and an ongoing tendency of concrete to transmit moisture vapor from surrounding exterior environments.
Conventional mitigation techniques for controlling cracking and curling of finished concrete surfaces generally involve the use of various mix designs, embedding “active” or “passive” reinforcement into the concrete slab, and liberal use of saw cutting to form control joints. The use of saw cutting to form control joints in the surface of the slab during the curing process is done in an effort to contain the cracking to predetermined control joint locations. As a result, however, the control joints themselves present significant maintenance and aesthetic challenges, which must either be dealt with as an ongoing maintenance issue, or treated with caulking or other materials meant to fill the control joints after curing to provide a smoother and less maintenance intensive surface. However, the application of caulk or other filler to the control joints can also create aesthetic and maintenance problems, which themselves detract from the desirability and performance of exposed concrete floors.
Accordingly, there is an ongoing need for improved concrete slabs and methods of preparing concrete slabs. Such methods should provide concrete slabs that avoid the aesthetic and functional limitations of present concrete slabs resulting from saw joint formation, filling, and/or maintenance. At least some of the embodiments of the present disclosure are directed toward these objectives.